1863: Gettysburg and
Vicksburg
Explain the effects of the battles of
Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
Analyze the Gettysburg Address.
Summer of 1863
In the West, United States
military forces under Ulysses S.
Grant have surrounded
Vicksburg, Mississippi, which
was a significant point that
controlled access to the
Mississippi River.
Summer of 1863: West
• Union’s Anaconda Plan
– Cut the South in half
– Blockade southern ports
– Capture Richmond
• A loss at Vicksburg would
mean that the
Confederate territory
would essentially be cut
in half.
Vicksburg
• 77,000 Union forces led
by Grant
• 33,000 Confederate
forces led by John
Pemberton
Vicksburg
Outcome: Union victory
Pemberton surrendered
Vicksburg to Grant on
July 4, 1863.
Vicksburg
Significance:
The Union gained muchneeded control of the
Mississippi River.
The Importance of the East
That is where the
capitals of the United
States and the
Confederate States were
located.
Summer of 1863: East
In the east, Confederate
forces under General Robert
E. Lee invaded the
Pennsylvania.
Invade the North
whenever possible
At this point in the war, the
Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia had a
winning record.
General, Robert E. Lee had
a plan to move his army
north.
5 reasons Lee invaded
Pennsylvania at Gettysburg
• to disrupt the Union’s ability to attack the Confederate capital at
Richmond, Virginia
• to draw the United States Army away from the safety of the
defenses of Washington, D.C. and fight them in the “open”
• to take the war away from the farmers in Virginia who were
having problems planting and harvesting crops, as both armies
had been camping or fighting on their land for the previous two
summers
• to “live off the land” and collect supplies to take back to Virginia
• to win a decisive victory on Northern soil in the hopes of
bringing the Civil War to a close
Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863
• 93,921 Union forces
under George Meade
• 71,699 Confederate
forces under Lee
After three days of fighting
July 1-3, 1863…
Image courtesy Library of Congress
… and 51,000 casualties
killed, wounded, or missing
Image courtesy Library of Congress
Gettysburg
Outcome:
The Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia was
defeated
Lee and his army left
Pennsylvania and retreated
back to Virginia.
Gettysburg
Significance:
Never again would the
Confederates invade a Northern
state in large numbers.
The victories at Gettysburg
and Vicksburg increased
the morale of the United States
and its armies.
Back at Gettysburg, the dead
were buried in quickly dug
battlefield graves.
Most of the Confederate dead
were left on the field in their
shallow graves for eight to ten
years until southern charity
groups had most of the bodies
taken away to cemeteries in
the South.
On November 19, 1863, a
Soldiers’ National Cemetery
was established at Gettysburg
for the Union dead.
Gettysburg Address
Music was played and
speeches were made, but the
most significant speech, lasting
approximately two minutes,
was made by President
Abraham Lincoln.
The Gettysburg Address
Themes:
the past
the present
the future
equality
unity
democracy
• Four years ago, all thoughts were
anxiously directed to an impending civil
war. All dreaded it – all sought to avert
it… Both parties deprecated war; but one
of them would make war rather than let
the nation survive; and the other would
accept war rather than let it perish. And
the war came.”
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural
Address